oak

[ ohk ]

/ oʊk /

noun

any tree or shrub belonging to the genus Quercus, of the beech family, bearing the acorn as fruit.

the hard, durable wood of such a tree, used in making furniture and in construction.

the leaves of this tree, especially as worn in a chaplet.

anything made of the wood of this tree, as an item of furniture, a door, etc.

Nearby words

o2o, oa, oaf, oafish, oahu, oak, oak apple, oak creek, oak fern, oak forest, oak gall

Idioms

sport one's oak, British. (of a university student) to indicate that one is not at home to visitors by closing the outer door of one's lodgings.

Origin of oak

before 900; Middle English ook, Old English āc; cognate with Dutch eik, German Eiche

Related formsoak·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oaks

At one community fair, in Thousand Oaks, Ruby met a man, a wrestler, who would become her next husband.
Gay Talese on Charlie Manson’s Home on the Range|Gay Talese|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A listener from Thousand Oaks put me in touch with the Dachshund rescue center where I adopted Lisa-Marie.
Here's How Kevin James Would Make Los Angeles Better for Animals|Justin Green|February 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Now we paralleled the river, beyond whose far edge grew many slender-trunked nara trees; apparently they were Japanese oaks.
Japan's Nuclear Ghost Towns|William T. Vollmann|May 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It would be the first time an Oaks and Derby winner would face off in the Preakness.
Can These Two Horses Save Racing?|Sally Denton|June 4, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Trees in abundance were growing about, some of which were oaks.
Wild Wales|George Borrow
On the hillsides a dense wood of oaks was topped by dark pines on the higher part of the ridge.
Palestine|Claude Reignier Conder
Dantzic, Rigi, and some other European oaks take names from port of shipment.
The Principal Species of Wood: Their Characteristic Properties|Charles H. (Charles Henry) Snow
The adults were at the time resting in the sun on the dried fruits of the rose and also on the moss which covered the oaks.
Journal of Entomology and Zoology, March 1917|Various
A gentle breeze is whispering in a near-by clump of oaks and elms—an untouched bit of the original forest.
In Pastures Green|Peter McArthur

British Dictionary definitions for oaks (1 of 2)

Oaks

/ (əʊks) /

noun (functioning as singular)

the Oaks a horse race for fillies held annually at Epsom since 1779: one of the classics of English flat racing

any of various similar races

Word Origin for Oaks

named after an estate near Epsom

British Dictionary definitions for oaks (2 of 2)

oak

/ (əʊk) /

noun

any deciduous or evergreen tree or shrub of the fagaceous genus Quercus, having acorns as fruits and lobed leavesSee also holm oak, cork oak, red oak, Turkey oak, durmast Related adjective: quercine

the wood of any of these trees, used esp as building timber and for making furniture
(as modifier)an oak table

any of various trees that resemble the oak, such as the poison oak, silky oak, and Jerusalem oak

anything made of oak, esp a heavy outer door to a set of rooms in an Oxford or Cambridge college
sport one's oak to shut this door as a sign one does not want visitors

the leaves of an oak tree, worn as a garland

the dark brownish colour of oak wood

Australian any of various species of casuarina, such as desert oak, swamp oak, or she-oak

Word Origin for oak

Old English āc; related to Old Norse eik, Old High German eih, Latin aesculus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for oaks

oak

Old English ac "oak tree," from Proto-Germanic *aiks (cf. Old Norse eik, Old Saxon and Old Frisian ek, Middle Dutch eike, Dutch eik, Old High German eih, German Eiche), of uncertain origin with no certain cognates outside Germanic.

The usual Indo-European base for "oak" (*derwo-/*dreu-) has become Modern English tree. Used in Biblical translations to render Hebrew elah (probably usually "terebinth tree") and four other words. The Old Norse form was eik, but as there were no oaks in Iceland the word came to be used there for "tree" in general.

oak

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of oak

Examples from the Web for oaks

British Dictionary definitions for oaks (1 of 2)

Oaks

noun (functioning as singular)

Word Origin for Oaks

British Dictionary definitions for oaks (2 of 2)

oak

noun

Word Origin for oak

Word Origin and History for oaks

oak